This blog is totally independent, unpaid and has only three major objectives.
The first is to inform readers of news and happenings in the e-Health domain, both here in Australia and world-wide.
The second is to provide commentary on e-Health in Australia and to foster improvement where I can.
The third is to encourage discussion of the matters raised in the blog so hopefully readers can get a balanced view of what is really happening and what successes are being achieved.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Microsoft Joins The Major A****** Category With Skype Updates
They try to have you not notice that they are re-setting defaults on the search engine and home page.
Grow up will you MS. Your endless updates are bad enough without this trickery!
I wasn't aware of the changes to home page and search settings but it is an expected behaviour.
For a while now I have not been recommending Skype to others and I hardly have any need to use it myself. Instead, I have been using the site https://appear.in
It uses WebRTC and only works with browsers that support that standard. Chrome and Firefox work like a treat.
No software to install, no updates to install and no passwords to remember. The site can tell who 'owns' the room by their email address and the computer they are using. All you need to do is email a URL to the intended recipients. It seems secure enough - check out the site if you are interested.
I'm a Microsoft employee and a regular reader of your blog. I'm not part of the Skype team but am part of the internal testing of the new "Skype for Business" branding of Lync and tighter integration to Skype - the consumer product.
What changes are you experiencing that made you so concerned? I'll try and get a contact at Microsoft to be able to answer any questions directly.
I honestly doubt that changes to defaults are trickery because of the focus we have on privacy and trust in all the cloud services that the future of Microsoft depends on.
In reply to Bruce I'll add that WebRTC isn't a standard yet and that the approach Apple and Microsoft are taking to eventually supporting a standard for voice in video in browsers is very interesting and worth digging into a bit deeper. There are lots of unresolved issues in WebRTC "as is" around patent-free codecs and security.
Microsoft is not anti-open source nor anti-standards and I think it is time for people trapped in that old thinking to be open to evaluating that via evidence.
The Microsoft Azure cloud supports many flavours of Linux distros as well as PHP, Phython and many other open programming languages not to mention Github etc. http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/what-is-azure/
Please present your counter-arguments after reviewing this https://msopentech.com/what-we-do/
"All of Skype’s biggest competitors are moving towards plugin-free browser calling features, and Redmond is finally admitting it has no choice but to do the same."
"Both Google and Mozilla are way ahead of Microsoft in this area, both in terms of adding WebRTC features to their respective browsers and in terms of building plugin-free calling services that rely on the technology. In short, Skype is under threat, and Microsoft has finally decided to opt for an “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” strategy."
I wasn't aware of the changes to home page and search settings but it is an expected behaviour.
ReplyDeleteFor a while now I have not been recommending Skype to others and I hardly have any need to use it myself. Instead, I have been using the site https://appear.in
It uses WebRTC and only works with browsers that support that standard. Chrome and Firefox work like a treat.
No software to install, no updates to install and no passwords to remember. The site can tell who 'owns' the room by their email address and the computer they are using. All you need to do is email a URL to the intended recipients. It seems secure enough - check out the site if you are interested.
I'm a Microsoft employee and a regular reader of your blog. I'm not part of the Skype team but am part of the internal testing of the new "Skype for Business" branding of Lync and tighter integration to Skype - the consumer product.
ReplyDeleteWhat changes are you experiencing that made you so concerned? I'll try and get a contact at Microsoft to be able to answer any questions directly.
I honestly doubt that changes to defaults are trickery because of the focus we have on privacy and trust in all the cloud services that the future of Microsoft depends on.
http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/skype.aspx
In reply to Bruce I'll add that WebRTC isn't a standard yet and that the approach Apple and Microsoft are taking to eventually supporting a standard for voice in video in browsers is very interesting and worth digging into a bit deeper. There are lots of unresolved issues in WebRTC "as is" around patent-free codecs and security.
https://torrentfreak.com/huge-security-flaw-leaks-vpn-users-real-ip-addresses-150130/
https://gigaom.com/2010/05/03/microsoft-on-vp8-for-html5-never-say-never/
It is the same nonsense as you see with Java Updates.
ReplyDeleteIn the update agreement flow there are two boxes that are pre-ticked which change default browser and search engine.
If you don't notice you are swapped. With Java it is even worse as the changes are even harder to set back to the way you want.
It is just too tricky by half and beneath MS.
David.
David,
ReplyDeleteall that plus Microsoft remain anti-open standards and continue to push closed protocols in this new skype for business.
Meanwhile the rest of the world moves on with open standards. Important principle of the readers of this blog.!
Microsoft is not anti-open source nor anti-standards and I think it is time for people trapped in that old thinking to be open to evaluating that via evidence.
ReplyDeleteThe Microsoft Azure cloud supports many flavours of Linux distros as well as PHP, Phython and many other open programming languages not to mention Github etc.
http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/what-is-azure/
Please present your counter-arguments after reviewing this
https://msopentech.com/what-we-do/
Here's a few on WebRTC..
ReplyDelete"Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has actively developed a competing technology known as CU-RTC"
http://www.fiercemobileit.com/story/microsoft-apple-undercut-mobile-webrtc-development/2013-09-26
"All of Skype’s biggest competitors are moving towards plugin-free browser calling features, and Redmond is finally admitting it has no choice but to do the same."
"Both Google and Mozilla are way ahead of Microsoft in this area, both in terms of adding WebRTC features to their respective browsers and in terms of building plugin-free calling services that rely on the technology. In short, Skype is under threat, and Microsoft has finally decided to opt for an “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” strategy."
http://venturebeat.com/2014/10/27/microsoft-eyes-webrtc-for-plugin-free-skype-calls-in-internet-explorer/
Object RTC much?
ReplyDeletehttp://ortc.org/